Nevada Assemblywoman Sandra Jauregui just landed what her campaign is calling a major endorsement in her race for lieutenant governor. “Mayor” Pete Buttigieg is headed to Las Vegas to campaign by her side.
Jauregui’s team is clearly excited about it. But, it’s worth asking a simple question: Is this really the guy you want vouching for you?
He Left a Mess Behind Him
When the Biden administration ended in January 2025, Buttigieg packed up his office and walked out the door. He didn’t exactly go out on a high note. His four years at the Department of Transportation were marked by one crisis after another — and rather than stick around to answer for any of it, he’s now out on the road playing kingmaker for Democrats across the country.
Rumor has it he’s eyeing a run for governor or Senate in Michigan. So stumping for candidates like Jauregui helps him stay in the spotlight and build political chits for whatever comes next. In other words, Nevada is just a stop on his comeback tour.
A Record Built on Crisis After Crisis
When Joe Biden tapped Pete Buttigieg for Transportation Secretary in 2021, Democrats called it a brilliant move. Here was a young, sharp, former mayor of South Bend, Indiana — a city of about 100,000 people — being handed oversight of a department with 55,000 employees and responsibility for how Americans fly, drive, and ship goods across the country.
What happened next wasn’t pretty.
In December 2022, more than 15,000 flights were canceled under Buttigieg’s watch — the worst and most costly single airline operational disruption in history. That same year, a critical FAA computer system failed, causing over 7,500 flight delays and exposing his incapacity to understand his responsibility for our nation’s infrastructure oversight.
Then there was East Palestine, Ohio. In February 2023, a train carrying hazardous materials derailed, creating an environmental nightmare for the small town. Buttigieg was blasted for taking too long to travel to East Palestine. When he finally spoke up publicly, he was talking about equity in construction jobs before addressing the actual disaster.
During the supply chain crisis of 2021 and 2022, Buttigieg was absent when United States ports faced a record backlog of ships stranded off our coasts. And despite billions of dollars invested in what was billed as a nationwide network of electric vehicle charging stations, very few were actually constructed.
Why This Matters to Nevada Conservatives
Nevada’s Lieutenant Governor chairs the Commission on Tourism, serves on the State Board of Transportation, and acts as governor when the elected governor is out of state. It’s not a ceremonial job.
So when a candidate running for that office calls in Pete Buttigieg, a man whose defining achievement was presiding over one transportation disaster after another, it tells you something about her judgment.
Jauregui has spent nearly a decade in the Legislature pushing gun control, expanding government programs, and advocating for rent caps and bigger spending. She’s promising more of the same if elected: the standard big-government playbook.
Buttigieg endorsing her is a perfect match. Two politicians who believe the answer to every problem is more government, more spending, and more federal involvement in your daily life.
That’s the opposite of what Nevada’s limited-government conservatives believe.
Nevada is a battleground state, and Democrats will pour money and star power into these down-ballot contests. Buttigieg’s name recognition is real, even if his record is a mess.
A big national name doesn’t automatically make a candidate qualified. Sometimes it just means the party is running out of better arguments.
The opinions expressed by contributors are their own and do not necessarily represent the views of Nevada News & Views. This article was written with the assistance of AI. Please verify information and consult additional sources as needed.
